When it comes to other high church days, Christ the King is not very old.

It was started in the early 20th Century by Pope Pius XI as a response to growing nationalism and secularism.

One of the names that became associated with this day was Judgment Sunday and there was a lot of emphasis on the part in the Creed where we proclaim, “He (Jesus) will come again to judge the living and the dead.”

But then I read that the Church of Sweden never took the name instituted by the Pope.

Rather than calling it Christ The King Sunday, they went with Domssoendagen

The Sunday of Doom.

Now, let me admit that when I first read what they called it my mind went to Comic Book Land and I thought of the arch-enemy of the Fantastic Four: Doctor Doom.

And I could not help but think how cool it was that a Church named a Sunday after a comic book villain.

Fortunately, my trip to Comic Book Land did not last too long.

And I started thinking how ominous it sounds to have a Sunday celebration with the word “Doom” in it.

The dictionary defines “doom” as “very bad events or situations that cannot be avoided; death, ruin.”

And in our Gospel lesson we read of a very bad event, one that cannot be avoided.

It is the crucifixion.

Crucifixion was an ancient form of death penalty.

And in Ancient Rome, crucifixion was reserved for slaves, pirates, treason, and enemies of the state.

Crucifixion was an ugly and horrible way to day.

It certainly fits the definition of “doom.”

And so it is here, on a giant piece of wood, in a very public place, that we find Jesus.

Our King.

Not exactly a place one would want to find his or her king.

What does it mean for us to acknowledge and worship a king who was convicted as a criminal?

You have to keep in mind that everything in the life of Jesus has led to this moment.

His words, actions, and mission were all leading to the inevitable: the cross.

Death. Ruin. Bad event.

Doom.

And yet, while all this bad stuff is going down, Jesus, our King, does two incredible acts that can resonate with us today.

Two acts that we, as his subjects, should take to heart.

The first is

“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Throughout the Gospels Jesus does so many things that you would not expect from a Rabbi, a teacher, a Man of God.

He talks to the poor, he eats with sinners, and he heals people on the Sabbath.

And he forgives people even when they are not seeking forgiveness.

In that one statement, Jesus, our God and King, turned certain doom into hope.

Let me tell why this is such an incredible image for me:

When I was in high school, I was hurt by some kids in my church Youth group.

Nothing physical, just mental/emotional.

I held on to that hurt for many years.

I held on to the hate I had for them.

And nowhere, no how did I think about forgiving them.

I wanted to hear them say “We are sorry.”

But years went by, and I moved on.

Made new friends and never saw those people again.

So what was I to do with that hate?

What was I to do with that UN-forgiveness?

It wasn’t until I started seminary and had a chance to study this passage that I came to the realization that Jesus forgave these people even when they didn’t ask for it.

And as I prayed over this passage I could hear God saying, “Forgive them, Jonathan.”

“Forgive and let go.”

And so that night, out loud, I said their names, and then said, “I forgive you.”

And it was like a 800 pound gorilla was lifted off my shoulders.

I let go of the hurt.

I let go of the pain.

I invite you today to let go of the hurt that is holding you back.

If Jesus, our KING, can forgive, why can’t we?

Why can’t we be good subjects of the king and follow his lead?

Holding on to anger, waiting for an apology before you forgive isn’t doing anyone, especially YOURSELF, any good.

You cannot change the past.

But you can change your present and your future.

You can decide “I am not going to let the hurt define me anymore.”

“I am going to follow my king.”

Another way to follow our king, another way he turns doom into hope, is how Jesus talks to the criminal.

The criminal admits to his sins, his wrongs.

He also admits that Jesus is innocent.

He also calls him God.

He comes to Jesus hoping that he is not doomed.

As a man of God, Jesus could have said “You are too late.”

But Jesus does not deny the criminal.

Rather, he says, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”

At that moment, in this moment of doom, this man is no longer a criminal.

He’s a companion.

And he is a companion of Jesus.

Think about it.

That’s what Jesus has been doing throughout the Gospel of Luke.

“Jesus, remember me”

Jesus has remembered the people that society forgot.

He remembered the poor, the sinners, the sick, and he brought them something they never had before.

A destination.

With God.

As his subjects, we are called to follow our king, and remember the people around us.

Remember the people who think they have no hope.

Who think they have been forgotten.

We are called to proclaim to the hurt and lonely “today and every day YOU have a place with God.”

By inviting and remembering we are carrying on God’s plan of taking the ruins of our lives and RE-building them into something wonderful.

The Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 2 and it was the Sox’s third championship in 9 years.

The championship helped bring healing to a city still reeling from the Boston Marathon bombings.

It didn’t matter to me who won, but then I started to notice something during the games in Boston.

There is a player for the Sox named Shane Victorino.

And whenever he came up to bat, the crowd would serenade him with a Bob Marley song:

“Don’t worry about a thing, ‘cause every little thing gonna be alright”

The song is called “Three Little Birds” and Victorino, being a huge Bob Marley fan, made that his coming-to-bat song last summer.

And the fans started singing to him.

Which has to be an awesome feeling for a player, having the people not only cheer for you but sing TO you.

What’s interesting is that Victorino did not play particularly well in the playoffs.

He was battling injuries, especially back problems.

But then he would hear that song and the lyrics and the people, and he knew that “Every little thing is gonna be alright.”

And the song’s lyrics turned out to be providential as Victorino hit the deciding grand slam during the American League Championship to propel Boston into the World Series, and then hit the deciding triple that helped win the Series for the Sox.

Now what does Bob Marley have to do with us today?

What does a song about three little birds have to do with Jesus?

Well just like the crowd singing a song of hope and comfort to a struggling baseball player,

Jesus is teaching a word of hope and comfort to a very scared group of people.

Now at first it may not look like that.

Jesus came to share the Good News (the Gospel) of God to the people,

But in today’s Gospel it looks like Jesus is sharing the Bad News.

Jesus and his disciples are in Jerusalem.

They are still in the Temple, where Jesus has been teaching since the beginning of chapter 20.

All the debates Jesus had with the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees in Chapter 20 occurred in the Temple.

And now some of the people (including the disciples) look up and are amazed at the Temple’s beauty.

You see, The Temple was the center of the Jewish world.

And it was huge.

The outer court could hold 400,000 people.

To the Jewish people, The Temple was the perfect building for the perfect God.

While the people are enamored at the Temple, Jesus says it’s all coming to an end.

And for the people this brings back bad memories.

The Temple had fallen before.

The scars, the memories are still there.

Now the people weren’t there when the first destruction happened.

But they have been told about it. And they share in the pain.

That is something to keep in mind about the Jewish people.

They use a lot of “we” language.

I experienced this when I had the chance to visit the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem twelve years ago.

As we were going around this gigantic museum, the tour guide would reference the people who suffered & died in the collective “we.”

So instead of saying “they lost their homes, their dignities, their lives” the host would say “WE lost their homes, etc.”

So that same mindset is present in the Gospel lesson.

The people don’t want to go through all that pain again.

Now notice they don’t ask Jesus WHY it will happen.

They just concentrate on the WHEN.

But Jesus doesn’t answer the WHEN question or the WHY question.

He answers the HOW.

How the destruction will come about.

And there are a lot of bad things that are going to happen.

And you can be certain the people were hanging on every word.

And they are frightened.

As our lessons states they are “terrified.”

Normally, in the Bible, you find the expression, “Do not be afraid (phobeo),” but here you get “Terrified (ptoeeo).”

It’s a different Greek word for “terrified.” And it means a deep fear.

But Jesus’ goal is not to scare the people.

He is making them AWARE of what is to come.

And while he is making them aware of the trials and tribulations, Jesus makes an incredible promise:

Jesus will be there with the people.

He will be there to give the people what they need to survive and (in a way) thrive.

Jesus will give them the Words, the Wisdom in so that they can Witness.

There is something comforting whenever we hear God say “do not be afraid.”

And there is something so strong in hearing God saying not one hair on our heads will perish.”

By saying that, God acknowledges the fear we have, but he also says, “I am here with you.”

And no matter what happens, God is not going to leave you.

God is saying, “Every little thing, is gonna be alright.”

I remember going down to Mississippi to help after Hurricane Katrina, and I had the opportunity to work with and for people whose lives were devastated.

And yet, in the middle of it, they never blamed God.

They THANKED God for being with them.

To them the signs of God’s presence wasn’t in the storm, the signs were in the people who responded to that storm.

To hear them tell their stories made me see God in a new and better way.

They were witnesses giving testimony to the presence of God during the time they were terrified.

They could hear God saying, “every little thing is gonna be alright.”

Think about the people in the Philippines.

Thousands have died due to the typhoon, and thousands more are still missing.

A nation is in ruins.

But this weekend, guess where many of those people are?

In church.

In prayer.

In community.

They are looking to God for comfort and hope.

The Rev. Amadero Alvero, whose church was half-destroyed, was leading worship at the for hundreds of survivors. He said,”Despite what happened, we still believe in God…The church may have been destroyed, but our faith is intact, as believers, as a people of God, our faith has not been destroyed.”

Such an incredible witness for us to hear!

I went to a memorial service on Friday in Raleigh.

One of my closest friend’s grandfather had passed away.

And during the celebration of life, the preacher talked about the power of God.

How is can bring healing from hurt

Joy from sorrow

And Life from death.

And what that means is that God is not a god who waits until we are hurting to come to us.

In our church culture, this Day is a day of remembrance where we remember loved ones who have passed away.

We remember the impact those people have had in our lives and the lessons they taught us when it came to life and God.

But today is also a day for us, as the Church, to remember that we, too, are called to be Saints;

That we have the opportunity to be Teachers and Examples to the world at large.

But for many of us it is hard to picture us as Saints.

It is hard for us to see ourselves as people worthy of that title.

But it is not a title earned, it is a title given.

And the one who gives us that title is Jesus.

And in our gospel lesson today, Jesus gives people a new name, a new life, and a new understanding of what it means to be a community of faith.

What draws me to this Gospel message is the crowd that is there to listen to Jesus.

Right before our Gospel opens, Jesus names his inner circle, the 12 disciples, or as Luke calls them the Apostles.

We get their names, which might not mean much to you but it does play a part in the message today.

After naming the 12, Jesus is surrounded by the apostles and a crowd of disciples.

And the people have traveled from all over the region to hear Jesus and to be healed by Jesus.

So Jesus makes this a teaching moment.

Now let me draw you a picture of just who is in this crowd:

Fishermen

A tax collector

A zealot

A traitor

People with unclean spirits

The rich

The “full-bellies”

The “Well-spoken ofs”

You cannot find a more diverse group of people anywhere else because in that society, because just like in our society, you would not find the rich hanging out with the poor, or the well-to-do hanging out with the down-and-outs.

EVER.

And yet they are all there.

They are all there for the same reason.

Jesus.

We who gather today are made up of a diverse crowd.

Among us are:

Single

Divorced

Married

Parents

Retirees

Healthy

Sick

Employed

Looking for work

Conservative

Liberal

Tar Heel Fan

Blue Devil Fan

Deacon Fan

And yet we all come together for the same reason as the crowd in the Gospel.

We come to hear Jesus.

We come to see and experience Jesus.

Because we can feel Jesus here.

We can get a sense that Jesus is talking directly to each and every one of us.

And I believe that is the sense the people in that crowd felt.

Especially for those who were poor.

For the first time in maybe ever, someone (Jesus) is talking TO them, not AT them or ABOUT them.

And this someone doesn’t tell them, “Go away,” he teaches that they have value NOW and LATER.

“Yours IS the Kingdom of God.”

“You WILL be fed.”

By addressing them, by treating them as people, Jesus does something that no one else of his influence had done or would ever think of doing!

He assures them that God has not forgotten them.

Now while Jesus talks to the poor I believe he also talks TO the Rich.

Now some might think Jesus is saying being rich or well-fed are bad things.

But I don’t believe that is Jesus’ point.

I believe Jesus is warning the well-offs to reconsider who or what they put their trust in.

If they put their trust in money, or food, or material goods, or rely on the compliments of others, they are going to be let down in the long run.

Jesus is not talking to them to condemn them but to change them.

Jesus wants the same thing from both groups.

He wants them to be part of the same mission.

And the same family.

A new family, if you will.

And in order to be in the same family, there has to be some ground rules.

And Jesus makes the rules and takes the opportunity to tell them how to love and live with one another.

And the word for love Jesus uses is “Agape” which is the deepest most intimate love possible.

And the word Jesus uses for “bless” is actually the word we get “Eulogy.”

To eulogize someone is to compliment them, or remember a person fondly.

Think of it as “putting the best light onto someone.”

And that crowd could not look at a better example of this type of LOVE than Jesus’ apostles where you find a tax collector (Matthew) AND a zealot (Simon).

In any other context, Simon would be at Matthew’s throat.

Literally.

He would be trying to murder Matthew.

Opposite sides of the spectrum and but now UNITED to follow Jesus, and to be examples of what we are called to be.

Jesus is giving the people new titles. New roles.

He is saying, “You are no longer The Poor or The Rich. You are My People. You are My Followers. You are going to be My Examples.”

And today we remember the Saints, the Examples in our lives.

And we also are encouraged to be Saints in the lives of others.

If you think you can’t be a saint, I am here to tell you that you already are!

Think about the “Saints” that made up the 12 Apostles:

Saint Peter denied Jesus 3 times

Saint Matthew was a hated tax collector associated with a foreign power

Saint Simon was a zealot who did not know what it meant to be calm

Saints James and John fought over MORE power instead of giving up power

And don’t forget that Saint Paul was an enemy of the church.

These Saints were not perfect.

They were regular people.

They were human.

Just like you and me.

But now they become people who are called to be examples, witnesses to a new life.

It is the same call we are hearing today.

And while we certainly want to honor and remember our loved ones, our saints.

I want us to leave today thinking:

“How can I be a saint in the life of someone?”

“How can I show them the same grace Jesus showed the people in our Gospel?”

“How can I show them the same love that the saints in my life showed me?”

A festival is an event centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of a community.

We just had a great example yesterday in Thomasville as it was Everybody’s Day.

I believe that festival is over 100 years old and is one of if not THE oldest festival in the state.

For the Christian Church, our biggest festivals are Easter and Christmas.

During the church year, there are other festivals that celebrate saints, events, and doctrines.

All the festivals in the Church Year serve one purpose: To Celebrate God.

By celebrating, we remember God’s promises and actions.

And today, our festival centers on St. Michael and All The Angels.

Let me share with you the role of angels in the Lutheran tradition.

Angels, both good and bad, were very real to Martin Luther.

He defined an angel as a spiritual creature appointed for the service of the divine church.

Luther also believed that angels were not just waiting for us at the end of our earthly lives, but that they were around in this life, providing for and guiding our affairs.

Luther wrote that, “we should learn that our best and most loyal friends are invisible.”

So today we lift up all Angels of God, especially Michael.

Who is St. Michael?

Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is it’s the name of my first parish in Unionville, PA.

But St. Michael refers to a particular angel that appears in the bible.

In the New Testament, you find mention of Michael in two books:

Jude & Revelation.

We hear from the Revelation passage today.

In the NT, Michael is described as a warrior of God against Lucifer, the devil.

Actually, he is THE warrior of God.

In the Old Testament, Michael appears in Daniel.

Now in the early church, Michael went from being a warrior to a healer.

But if you read the scriptures, Michael is more ready to fight than he is to heal.

But that is where we get some good news today.

You see, Michael is fighting FOR US.

And that means so much for the people of Israel, who are reading and hearing Daniel, in their context.

Because Israel has been through wars, exile, rebuilding.

And there are times when it would seem no matter what they do, something or someone is going to come and ruin it.

Isn’t that something we can relate to?

Have you ever had that moment where it seems like things in your life is going well but you start to think that the good CAN’T last for long.

That something bad is around the corner.

And that is a hard way to live.

That feeling of constant…dread.

And that is why it is so important for us to look at books like Daniel and Revelation from a different perspective.

Those books fall into the category we call Apocalyptic Literature.

Now when we think of “apocalypse” we think of Left Behind, the End Times, the Worst of Times.

But Apocalyptic Literature in the Bible served a very specific purpose: to give hope.

So when we read today’s passage from Daniel, it is important that you DON’T FORGET THE BUT!

And that is BUT with ONE “t”!

Because as our passage opens, Daniel is overcome with a vision.

Daniel has been fasting for three weeks.

And he has this vision that leaves Daniel weakened, sick, and feeling alone.

And then Hope arrives.

It arrives in a simple touch.

A hand placed on Daniel.

And this touch “rouses” him up.

Listen to the words of hope:

“Daniel, you are greatly beloved.”

“Do not be afraid.”

“I have heard you!”

“You will not have to fight anymore.

I will fight FOR you.”

And the “hope talk” continues in Chapter 12 where the people will experience a time of anguish.

And once again, Daniel reminds us to DON’T FORGET THE BUT!

One “t”.

“But at that time” you will be delivered!

“But at that time” a great protector, Michael, shall arise.

And on this day where we celebrate Michael and the work of the angels, it is important that we remember the hope that God has promised us.

And that we REMEMBER THE BUT!

One “t”.

How many times in our lives have we been comforted with someone saying, “My friend, I know this is a rough time, BUT you will get through it.”

And how many times in our lives have we been “roused” by the touch of a hand, the work of an angel?

The Greek word for “angel” really means “a messenger,” not a like a mail man, but one who is sent to deliver a message by word of mouth.

And this name is applied in Scripture to ALL messengers of God in heaven and on earth, whether they are holy angels or prophets or apostles…So all who proclaim His Word are God’s angels and messengers.

These angels can come in all shapes and sizes.

They can come in the form of Sandwich Ministry, Open Arms, CCM, and Food Pantries.

They can come in the form of our pets, or animals like Patriot Rovers who are specifically trained to help soldiers who are battling PTSD.

They can come in the form of Nicholas Lowinger.

Who at the age of 5 went with his mom to a homeless shelter and wanted to show off his new light-up sneakers.

But his mom told him not to do that because these children did not have such luxuries.

And Nicholas was so moved by what he saw in that shelter that he started donating all the shoes he’d outgrown to local shelters.

And then at age 12, he started a program that donates new shoes to homeless children.

The program has a great name: Gotta Have Sole!

And in just 3 years, Nicholas and his organization has donated shoes to more than 10,000 homeless children in 21 states.

And as Nicholas says, “No one is ever too young or old to help others.”

Martin Luther said that the angels are hard at work for us.

The angels, like Michael, are fighting FOR us.

And today we celebrate the work of the angels.

And WHO they work for.

And we remember the BUT… one “t”…

We celebrate the Hope that we have been promised, and the Hope we have received.